By-laws

POSTED ON NOVEMBER 07, 2012

Dear Members of the AATSP Ontario Chapter:

I am pleased to adivse you that the AATSP-ON draft by-laws were voted, and approved on November 3, 2012 at our Annual Conference held this year at Glendon College. You can find our new by-laws following this message, and, as previously noted, the bylaws of the AATSP, the umbrella organization, can be located here.

Best regards,

Belén Huarte, President

By-Laws of the Ontario Chapter of the American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese, Inc. (AATSP-ON)

Preamble

The Ontario Chapter of the American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese, Inc. (AATSP) operates in conformity with the By-Laws of the umbrella organization.

These By-Laws are designed to clarify the AATSP By-Laws and the Chapter Guide as they apply to the existing Ontario Chapter.

Article I: Name of Association

The name of this Association shall be The Ontario Chapter of the American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese (AATSP-ON).

Article II: Purpose

The purpose of this Chapter is:

a) to promote communication and professional growth among teachers of Spanish and Portuguese at all levels of instruction;

b) to increase interest in the study and teaching of the Spanish and Portuguese languages, cultures and literatures and such other complementary purposes not inconsistent with these objectives.

Article III: Officers and Board of Directors

The Board of Directors is responsible for the overall policy and direction of the Ontario Chapter. It is also charged with holding regular Board meetings and setting the time and place of all annual and special meetings of the Chapter.

  1. The Officers of this Chapter shall be:
    1. The President
    2. The Vice-president
    3. The Secretary
    4. The Treasurer
  1. The Board of Directors shall consist of the Officers and the immediate past President of the Chapter, the latter in a non-voting capacity.
  1. Decisions of the Board of Directors shall be made by a majority vote of those present at board meetings, whether in person, by telephone or other simultaneous interactive communication.
  1. Board meetings may be held in person or with the support of communications technology.
  1. The terms of Office shall be two years. Each Officer may be re-elected once.
  1. Every second year, the President shall appoint a Nominating Committee of at least three persons from among the membership and chaired by a Board member to call for nominations and present a slate of candidates prepared to stand for election as officers.
  1. The Vice-President shall normally advance automatically to the position of President when these elections are held.
  1. The slate of candidates for officer positions shall be presented to the membership at least 10 working days in advance of the elections.
  1. Elections will usually be held in conjunction with the chapter’s major annual conference, normally held in the fall of each year.
  1. Board resignations must be delivered in writing to the Secretary who shall immediately advise all other Board members. Any vacant office shall immediately be communicated to the membership with a call for nominations within a prescribed time period. The person elected to fill the vacancy shall serve only until the next regular elections and may stand for re-election at that time. Interim board members who serve less than a year may stand for re-election twice.
  1. Should the Presidency become vacant, the Vice-President will act as president until regular elections or a Special Election is held at the annual fall conference.
  1. A vote of the majority of members will determine election to an Office of the Board of Directors.
  1. Voting may be conducted in person at the major annual conference or electronically, or using a combination of these methods.
  1. An electronic election shall be conducted using appropriate means to ensure member privacy and secret ballot.

Article IV: Duties of Officers and Directors

1. The President shall:

a. Be the chief executive officer of the Chapter.

b. Organize and chair all meetings of the Chapter and the Board of Directors.

c. Exercise any other powers as may be decided by the Board of Directors.

2. The Vice-President shall:

a. Exercise the duties of the President in the absence of that Officer.

b. Take charge of Chapter activities assigned by the President.

3. The Secretary shall:

a. Circulate meeting notices and maintain the corporate records of the Chapter.

b. Record the minutes of Board meetings and circulate them to the members of the Board of Directors within 15 working days of Board meetings.

c. Seek the approval of the minutes within 5 working days. The absence of a response from any Board member shall be understood as approval of the minutes.

d. Distribute the approved minutes to the membership in electronic form or make them available through a chapter website or other electronic instrument.

e. Maintain an electronic archive of the minutes and transfer them to the succeeding secretary.

f. Report the names of elected officers to the appropriate officers at the National Office in the required formats within 30 days of elections.

g. Report any change to the composition of the Board of Directors to the appropriate officers at the National Office of the AATSP within 30 days of the change.

h. Advise the appropriate officer at the National Office with respect to scheduled Chapter meetings.

i. In the absence of the President and Vice-President, reschedule the meeting.

4. The Treasurer shall:

a. Keep an accurate list of the members of the Chapter.

b. Maintain a detailed account of all funds received and disbursed, including conference and event funds, and make a financial report at every meeting of the Board of Directors.

c. Prepare an annual financial statement for the membership.

5. The Board of Directors shall:

a. Be responsible for all business of the Chapter that may arise between regular meetings of the Chapter.

b. Approve the minutes of Board meetings as well as the financial reports and proposed disbursements.

c. Hold at least one regular meeting before each regularly scheduled Chapter meeting.

d. Hold the Board meeting to plan for the fall Chapter meeting before June 15 of each year.

e. Vote on all decision items at Board meetings; decisions will be carried by a majority vote of those in attendance.

6. The Board of Directors may appoint experienced members in good standing to act as advisors to the Board with specific mandates for a one or two year period, in a non-voting capacity.

Article V: Membership

Members must belong to the AATSP umbrella corporation in order to be accepted as a member of the Ontario chapter. Although the Chapter is based in Ontario, membership is open to qualified individuals across Canada.

Article VI: Member Misconduct

In the case of member misconduct, the Chapter shall rely on the measures provided for in the AATSP By-Laws.

Article VII: Chapter Meetings

The Chapter will normally hold a conference in the fall of each year. Other meetings may be scheduled whenever sufficient interest is expressed.

Elections shall normally be held at an administrative meeting during the Annual Conference. Quorum shall consist of those Chapter members present.

The location of the annual conference will rotate among the home institutions of members in good standing so that over time cities and institutions across the province have the opportunity to host the conference. Normally, an institution shall not be asked to host more often than every third year.

Article VIII: Amendments to these By-Laws

Amendments may be made to these By-laws from time to time as required. Amendments must be adopted by a two-thirds majority vote of the Board of Directors and subsequently by the membership at its next annual meeting.

Article IX: Dissolution

In the event of dissolution of this Chapter, its assets and membership list would be transferred to another chapter in Canada or a Canadian institution with similar interests.

Article X: Adoption

These By-Laws were adopted by majority vote at the annual conference of the Chapter held on November 3, 2012 at Glendon College, York University in Toronto, Ontario,and replace any previous Chapter By-Laws or guidelines.

%d bloggers like this: